"It's been so long," Aro mumbled.
Not long enough, I thought. But I couldn't let Aro see past my fake friendship towards him. It's times like these that I wished I had Bella's powers. I wanted the shield. I didn't want Aro to reach his hand out and read my thoughts with ease. "Yes," I finally agreed.
A smirk came over his deep red lips. "Dear Carlisle, I sometimes admire your gift. Your gift to resist the blood of humans. I can't imagine the training it required. The deep burning in your throat, and the yearning to just give in. If only on one human.
"It was not without difficulty, as you can imagine," I sighed. Irrelevantly, the pain in my throat was burning. It felt as if someone was sticking steel wool down my air tube. It was almost to the point where I couldn't breathe.
Aro continued. "The Volturi has very strict policy when it comes to our diet. We must share a common one. You cannot exist in this coven while having your 'vegetarian' diet. We must share a mutual attraction to the same source of energy."
I understood what he meant.
"The choice is there. Either we fit to your diet, or you adapt to ours. I think you know the evident path we will choose."
I nodded.
"Your eyes will soon turn red with the venom that runs through your veins. As soon as you take your first sip of human blood, we can consider you—once again—one of the Volturi."
The realization that I will be drinking the blood of those I used to consider friends had hit me days before. So it wasn't much of a shock when I was there, in that day, ready to hunt a human for the first time in my vampiric life.
I'm not quite sure what happened next. It was sort of blurry, perhaps because of the adrenaline running through my venom-filled veins. I do remember, though, Caius grabbing my arm and yanking me towards the large doors. I was rushed out of the room which held Aro's throne, and into another. It was a box—it looked like one, at least—with ornate patterns across it. Beads were spread across the surface. Then I noticed the double doors on it.
Jane stepped out from the back of the box. My lips curled and my eyebrows curved towards my nose. I was afraid of her shocking me with her gift. But instead, she just opened the double doors. Inside laid a young woman, about twenty-three or so. I knew what she was there for. Her smell enticed me like no other human ever did. I felt like a newborn again. Caius pushed me forward and I instinctively pounced at the girl, ready to bite. My teeth wrapped around her neck and my jaw stiffened. I was going to do it.
And then I was back to consciousness, seeing just Zafrini's face. Well, I suppose I never "left" consciousness. I was just zoned out, in Zafrini's illusion. Then again, I didn't know why she was showing me this. It was quite random. Out of nowhere. "What—"
She interrupted me. "Edward told me what you were thinking, Carlisle. I'm astonished. Considering joining the Volturi? Are you insane?"
"Zafrini, it just popped into my head."
She wouldn't allow excuses. And I suppose I wouldn't have either. "Carlisle, I just showed you your fate if you ever decided to wander that path. You cannot resist human blood if you are one of the Volturi.
I understood and thought that her tactic was smart. She was right. The illusion was. I could not be a vegetarian if I ever joined their forces.
"Edward told me that your meeting with Aro persuaded you to consider this. Aro is a horrible man, Carlisle. The Volturi are horrible people. You mustn't even think about joining them for even a second. Think about Renesmee, and think about Bella, Edward, Alice, Jasp…"
She kept speaking but I stopped listening. Still thinking about that illusion. If I joined them, I could be unstoppable. I could be that powerful yet again. I reminisced about my time as one of the Volturi and a smirk came to face.
"AND THINK ABOUT ESME!" She yelled, clearly yearning my attention once again. It worked.
"I know all of this, Zafrini. Worrying about this is silly. I'm well aware of the consequences of joining the Volturi." I was lying. Worrying about it was not silly. I was seriously considering it.
But why? I couldn't understand why this was actually something that could end up happening. I knew Aro wanted be back. And I knew that something inside of me was telling me to go back. I knew it was wrong. But something was telling me to return.
I thought for a second that it might not be my own mind making this decision. It could have been work of the Volturi. After all, they had brought many witnesses to the meeting we had regarding Renesmee, just earlier this week. I knew of all the strengths and gifts of those in the Volturi and their guard, but I had no knowledge of their witness' powers. Was I being influenced by something acting as an outside force—digging its way into my brain?